GREENSBORO, N.C. -- A talented field at the D3 Showcase awaits this weekend as the 20th-ranked Christopher Newport baseball team hits the road for the first time in 2024. CNU will play three neutral-site contests against No. 15 Denison, No. 8 Marietta, and No. 10 Cortland at First National Bank Field, the home of the Greensboro Grasshoppers. CNU will first take on Denison at 10:00 a.m. on Friday followed by a 1:15 scheduled first pitch against Marietta. Then, on Saturday morning at 11 a.m. the Captains will face off against the Red Dragons of SUNY Cortland.
Christopher Newport is off to a 4-1 start through the first five games this year while leaning on dominant pitching. The Captains pitching staff ranks second in Division III in K/9 this season, striking out over 14 batters per nine innings. CNU ranks 17th in team ERA, with a 2.45 mark.
Leading the way has been fifth-year ace
Dylan Weber, who was named the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week as well as a member of the D3baseball.com National Team of the Week after his first start last season. Weber struck out 12, leading an overall performance by the staff on opening day that saw CNU strike out 19, ranking as the second most in program history.
Offensively, junior transfer
Lincoln Lubsen has four hits in his first ten at-bats as a Captain to lead the attack with a .400 average. Sophomore shortstop
Josh Reinhold is hitting .381 with a team-leading 11 total bases through the first five games.
CNU will be taking on Denison for the third time after the two teams split the first two in the all-time series. The Captains won the inaugural matchup, 5-1, in the 2018 NCAA Regional, before Denison won, 8-3, in last year's D3 Showcase in Charlotte.
Against Marietta, the Captains trail the all-time series, 3-4, but CNU captured the most recent meeting with a 10-0 shutout in last year's D3 Showcase. The two perennial powers have faced off four times int he last two seasons with each team taking a pair.
Rounding out the weekend's action for Christopher Newport is a Saturday morning tilt against Cortland, marking the eighth all-time meeting between the two teams. CNU is 5-2 all-time against the Red Dragons including wins in three of the last four matchups. It is the first time since 2017 the two teams have paired up.
Live video will be available for all three games with live stats and a live audio webcast also online for the matchup against Marietta. Links can be found at CNUsports.com on the baseball schedule.
Following the trip to Greensboro, N.C., Christopher Newport will return home before embarking on another trip to the Tar Heel State next weekend to face Immaculata University, Wittenberg University, and host Methodist University.
